The University of Silicon Valley has launched a merit scholarship that allows students to turn exceptionally difficult video game achievements into up to $15,000 in annual tuition support. The program gives both PC and console players an opportunity to have everything from rare trophies and long-term progression milestones considered alongside more traditional scholarship application materials.
Gaming scholarships are far from a new invention, but they have historically been associated with organized eSports first and foremost. USV's recently introduced Max Achievement Scholarship takes an entirely different approach, recognizing persistence and deep knowledge of game systems rather than tournament performance. This allows solo achievements and completionist milestones to qualify even without a competitive track record.
According to the official Max Achievement Scholarship page, undergraduate awards are divided into two tiers: Legendary, worth up to $5,000 per term, and Mastery, worth up to $2,500 per term. Since the university offers three terms per calendar year, the Mastery and Legendary scholarships are worth up to $7,500 and $15,000 annually, respectively. USV says Legendary achievements generally require more than 500 hours of "sustained mastery" and have global completion rates below 1%, while Mastery achievements typically have completion rates between 1% and 5%.
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